Back Button Auto-Focus

 

Wilton Reservoir Falls

In recent years the speed and accuracy of the auto-focus in digital cameras has greatly improved.  I still use manual focus for precise adjustments especially on stationary subjects (love those trees !), but considering my dimming elderly vision, I depend more and more on auto-focus, especially when shooting on the fly. I have previously discussed techniques for getting the most from your camera's auto-focus capabilities, but every camera uses a different array of sensors and different controls.  The only way to develop a smooth and reliable technique is to read your manual and then practice, practice, practice. 


Half Press
 As different as various cameras can be,  they nearly all share the same default procedure for initiating auto-focus, the half press. Using whatever focus spot that has been selected, The shutter is pressed half way down to trigger focusing.  As long as the shutter button remains pressed the focus point will be maintained until the button is pushed all the way to trigger the exposure.  Once focus is locked, the scene can recomposed without changing the focus point.  It is an efficient approach and one I used for many years.  That is until I discovered "Back Button Auto-Focus".

Iguanas and Back-Button Focus
 On a trip to the Galapagos Islands in 2010,  I was discussing with a National Geographic Photographer, my frustration with the use of "half press" auto-focus.  I was annoyed with the requirement to re-focus every time I pressed the shutter.  That small delay was often long enough to miss the shot especially when I was trying to capture the remarkable wildlife in motion in this unique location.  He suggested that I try back button auto-focusing to separate the shutter release from the auto-focus.  If I got nothing else from Galapagos trip, and of course I got infinitely more, it would have been worth it to learn this great technique.  I will never go back to half-press.  The trick was to discover how to reset my camera.

The Quest
 Many modern cameras allow a change in the auto-focus button.  As is true for many,  my Canon 5D Mark II hides the adjustment deep in several layers of menus and the terminology can be confusing, but it is worth finding it.  This what your manual was written for.  I had to descend to Custom Function IV and then to "Shutter button / AF-On button" and then to #3 "AE lock / Metering + AF Start" to move my auto-focus to the AE Lock button on the back of the camera.  As I said each camera may have a different path to this control, but if you have problems interpreting your manual, you can go perform a Google to find a video showing the steps for almost every camera. 

Michael Moore, Chesterfield Gorge, Chesterfield, NH

Here are the steps required on just a few Canon Cameras:

• EOS Rebel T3: C.Fn 7 (option 1 or 3)
• EOS Rebel T3i: C.Fn 9 (option 1 or 3)
• EOS 50D: C.Fn IV-1 (option 2 or 3)
• EOS 60D: C.Fn IV-1 (option 1, 2, 3, or 4)
• EOS 7D: C.Fn IV-1 (Custom Controls — Shutter, AF-ON, AEL buttons)
• EOS 5D Mark II: C.Fn IV-1 (option 2 or 3)
• EOS-1Ds Mark III: C.Fn IV-1 (option 2 or 3)
• EOS-1D Mark IV: C.Fn IV-1 (option 2 or 3)

Back Button Technique
 To use back Button focusing,  I hold the camera with my index finger on the shutter and my thumb over the AE Button (*) to independently control focus.  It took a little practice, but now I work the separate controls without any pause or confusion.  I can set the focus at any time and it remains fixed until I press again, no matter how often I reframe or how many times I hit the shutter.  And I don't have to wait to refocus for every shot. When using follow focus ("AI Servo on my Canon), I just press and hold the AE Lock button to continuously hold focus on my target. 


So why would you want to use back button focusing?  Half press works well in many situations, but there are a number of important advantages to making the switch.

• Easier Timing

  

  Dancing Lady

  
  As I mentioned, with back button AF it is easier to catch the critical moment, not having to delay the shot while waiting for the half press auto-focus to jump into place.  Alternatively you could hold the shutter half pressed as you wait for the "moment", but this gets tiring very quickly and  focus must be re-acquired after each shot.
  
  
  
• Easier to Lock the focus.

  

  Oscar at Johnny D's

  
  The classic example is when you are shooting multiple images of a subject in the foreground but want to recompose with the subject to the side, away from the central focus spot.  With the half-press, you must re-focus and re-compose between each shot, but with the back button technique you can fix the focus and then shoot as many shots as you want.
  
  
  
• Easier to Manually Adjust Focus
  
  
  On cameras that allow full time manual focus, back button AF permits you to touch-up focus manually without the focus resetting as soon as the shutter is pressed.  On my camera I can manually adjust exposure in the Half-Press mode but only if I keep the shutter button pressed and as soon as I try to take a second shoot, the focus pops out of the manually set position.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Easier Macro Focus
  With Macro photography I find that it is often easier to use the back button to fix my focus close to the subject and then move subtly back and worth to bring the target into sharp focus.  With half press AF the camera fights this technique by trying to re-focusing on every shot.
  
  
  
• Momentary Distractions
  When shooting action using follow focus, the focus will not be thrown off if something momentarily moves across the frame, with half press you must stop and refocus, but with back button you can momentarily remove your finger from the button while  keeping the focus at its last setting.
  

Abby to the Finish, Keene NH

These are just a few of my favorite advantages to back button AF.  I have yet to meet a photographer who, once trying it, has ever gone back to the half press technique as their primary mode of triggering auto-focus.  It may take some effort to find how to make the switch, and not all cameras have the option, but once you get used to the procedure you will surprised how it will enhance the power of your camera's auto-focus.



Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

A Group Photo-Shoot

My Introduction to Digital Photography Class is underway at Keene Community Education. This is my second try at this basic course and again I am pleased to be blessed with an enthusiastic and energetic group. I have been impressed with the number of people, even in our small community, who are struggling to grasp the challenges and great capability of digital photography. There level of interest is such that they seem willing to sit through my two hour classes of endlessly, mind numbing PowerPoint slides, but I am a strong believer that repeated practice is the only way to firmly embed the often abstract principals behind the faithful capture of the visual image. My essential rule is:


Practice, Practice, Practice
And Then
Throw Out Your First 10,000 Images

Five Minutes

Accordingly, in addition to my eight hours of lecture, I supplement the class with two group photo-shoots The shoots give me the opportunity to help the students work through the basic principals in practical situations. It is my experience that I can contribute more with five minutes looking over a student's shoulder than I can with an hour of lecture and the result of these sessions is a pile of images that I can ruthlessly (and constructively) critique in class.





 

Shooting What Nature Provides

Ashuelot River Falls
Scouted before the Shoot

Last Tuesday evening, nine of my 15 students were able to come out for my first group shoot at Ashuelot River Park in Keene New Hampshire. We escaped the rain, but the sky was mostly overcast. I welcomed the conditions, since it allowed me to point out the importance of using the weather to help dictate the best photographic opportunities. The clouds robbed us of the chance to shoot the glorious sunset color, but it did facilitate the capture of the soft, cotton candy appearance of the Ashuelot River Falls and made it possible to record the rich, saturated colors of the parks exploding spring foliage.





I started by gathering the class for a group photo and then answering a few of the many questions that my first formal class had created. After a quick review of equipment, which included admonitions to bring a tripod, I let everyone go to find their muse. We split up into two groups. One heading to the dramatic environs of the waterfall, which was rendered more dramatic by the recent rain, and the other following a more contemplative stroll along the path which follows the Ashuelot River up-stream.





A Little Help from a Friend

Steve Hooper Guidance

The most frustrating part of these shoots is that I can never help everyone at once. Happily I was able to share the support with
another excellent photographer and teacher. Again this year Steve Hooper generously offered to help coach my students. Steve is retired from many years as a photographer for the Keene Sentinel newspaper and continues to share his love of photography by teaching in at "Class", Keene State College's senior continuing education program. Steve and I enjoy sharing each others class shoots and on this occasion he shepherded the waterfall group while I ambled up the river.



Introduction
 These shoots provide the opportunity to cover a broad range of topics, reinforcing information already discussed in class and also introducing material that will be covered in future sessions. In about 90 minutes, I reviewed shooting techniques for maximum stability, the pros and cons of jpg and RAW image formats, automatic and manual focus techniques, and the use of the histogram to establish optimal exposure. We cover aspects of strong composition, including the importance of including foreground elements and the avoidance of distractions around the edges of the frame.



 

Ashuelot Reflection

The time went quickly. On these shoots I always concentrate on the needs of the students and don't leave with many of my own images. What I did come away with was a better sense of my classes level of understanding, their needs and a file filled with their images, ready for my gentle critique during the next class session. As I review the pictures I am always looking for images that will help demonstrate important points about digital photography, but it is amazing how many times the students come up with remarkably fresh and interesting perspectives that I had never noticed. I love praising all these efforts, and love even more my plans to go back to the location to feed off of their inspiration.

 



I have two more classes to come, one on composition and the final session on photography in different kinds of light, and we will have one more group shoot after the composition class.







Over the years I have prepared many short talks on aspects of photography, but it is amazing how much more time it takes to organize a full course with eight hours of fresh material. But the work is amply rewarded by the opportunity to share my passion for photography with so many people who are just discovering the incredible possibilities of photography in the digital world.

Squirreling Away the Kids,  Ashuelot River Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry I could only show a few of great images that came from our shoot, but I'm sure there will be much more to come.


Coming up later this year I plan to repeat my Introduction to Digital Photography Course along with my Adobe Lightroom for Digital Photographers class. In the fall I am planning an Autumn Foliage workshop and who knows what else in the new year - I'm hooked - The only challenge is to find time to actually get out to shoot.

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

Costa Rican Birding

Teel Biled Toucan

It is always a sad time every spring when I reluctantly take down

Montezuma Oropendola

the bird feeders. I know that the birds will find plenty to eat among the newly exposed grass, and I understand the importance of avoiding attracting the newly awakened and ravenous bears, but I will miss the flocks of energetic Chickadees, sparrows, Titmice Woodpeckers and more that entertained us on our deck. It is a good time to embrace memories of the green and warmth of our tour of Costa Rica in January. it was an active two weeks traveling from the topical rain forest along the Caribbean Coast, through the coffee plantations and cloud forest of the central mountains, to the warm sands of the Pacific Coast. It was an active and exciting trip including white water rafting and zip lining through the topical forest, but the major focus was on the remarkable diversity of wildlife and especially the birds.

　

Great Egret, Tortuguero

I always insist that I am NOT a bird photographer, but I keep placing myself in situations where the birding is unavoidable. Trips to Alaska and especially the Galapagos Islands have forced these feathery creature in front of my lens. When unavoidable, I do enjoy capturing these amazing creatures, but Costa Rica was an entirely new level of birding exposure. For a small country, Costa Rica has a remarkable concentration of wildlife diversity. Veronica, a fellow traveler on the tour and a devote and knowledgeable birder, recorded more than 70 new species during our two weeks in the rain and cloud forests, and along both Pacific and Caribbean coasts .

 

　

Blue-Grey Tanager, Serapiqui

 
During two long layovers on our way home, Veronica patiently reviewed all my 3000+ images from the trip, identifying the birds, while I entered the names into my Lightroom Metadata. She saved me hours of time wading through my Costa Rican wildlife guides.

　

Little Blue Heron

 

What follows is a gallery of just some of Central America's feathery fauna. Hopefully it will encourage some of you to tour Costa Rica's amazing environments, but I also assembled this article as a way of refreshing my own memory. I hate when I have to describe these majestic animals as: "pretty red bird", "pretty blue bird", ".... etc".







Tortuguero

Tortuguero is along Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast and next to a large tropical Rainforest preserve.  On hikes and boat trips through the forest we had our first intense exposure to the diverse wildlife of the region, especially the birds.






Female Anhinga

Male Anhinga 
















Jacana

Juvenile Black Hawk

 

Chestnut Mandibled Toucan

Bare Throated Tiger Heron

Yellow Crown Night Heron

Green Kingfisher












 

 
Sarapiqui

Located on the Sarapiqui River the Sarpiqui Lodge was a great place for white water rafting and touring a Banana Plantation, but it was also rich with rainforest birds.





Red legged HoneyCreeper

Green Honeycreeper

Collared Aracari

 San Gerado

Sangerado Valley Mist

The Chirio Valley in the central  highlands of the Talamanca Mountain Range of Costa Rica is an isolated area of pristine cloud forest with its own ecosystem and unusual birds including the famous Resplendent Quetzal. 

Black Throated Trogon

 

Tail  on the Blue-Crowned Motmot



Distant Resplendent Quetzil




Thanks to Veronica I guess I am now an official Birder.

Costa Rica Gallery

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

An April Day of Winter

Often after a season ends I will do a retrospective blog article celebrating some of the best images of the season. As I think back on this last winter, I realized that, for me at least, it was a one day season, and that one day was in April.




A Christmas Stroll

My recollections of winter 2015-16 include walking about the village in shirt-sleeves on Christmas Day, and then various dustings of snow and variable periods of cold. I admit I was gloriously absent from New England in late January, for a two week tour throughout Costa Rica, but I don't believe the region suffered any major blizzards in my absence. Sadly, for this year, my usual collection of crystal brilliant winter scenes is largely empty.





Window on the Storm

 It isn't that we totally lacked frozen precipitation. This winter, weather records show that we had about two feet less snow than average, but that was only about 30% less than usual. The problem was that the snow came in scattered dustings that seldom accumulated to a depth which could be characterized as a photographic "Winter Wonderland". 
 




Roads End Wall

By early April I had abandoned hope and switched to Spring anticipation mode, but then on April 4th a storm blew through and gave me my one brief taste of winter. It was just for a few hours and by the end only about 3-4 inches had accumulated, but I was able to get out and grab a few precious images of my only real winter storm of the season.

　














Tree in the Storm

Knowing that the blowing precipitation would only last a short time I headed out to my favorite nearby locations. I cruised the high pastures along Route 63 as it passes through Chesterfield Village, and struggled through the brush to capture the lone border tree nearly lost in the blowing snow. I moved along the pasture's edge to include the leading line of the wire fence. Falling snow always offers opportunities to highlight depth such as in the image looking down the tree-lined path to the distant barn. And of course I had to swing by my favorite local farm, Roads End.

 





　





Pointillism Barn

I love the way differences in shutter speed can affect the feel of images of falling snow and have discussed the topic in a previous article. During this surprise April storm I had plenty of opportunities to sample the various moods of the falling snow. Images with a longer shutter highlighted the angry blowing streaks of snow, while shorter shutter speeds froze the flakes creating a softer feel suggesting the pointillism of Georges Seurat.



Spring Storm

　




Main Street Storm

I was only out for a couple of hours before the snow faded away, but it was amazing how many different impressions were possible with just a spin of the camera dial. And then it was over. The warm April sun dissolved the scant cover in a couple of days and, although I never captured my "Winter Wonderland" shot, I'm still happy that I salvaged this one day before the "winter that wasn't" melted to a merciful end.

　



Now the buds are beginning to pop and I'm ready for spring.



Woodpile Spring, Hubner Farm, Chesterfield, NH

Jeffrey Newcomer
partridgebrookreflections.com